ANGRY shop owners in Bradford became so incensed at being undercut by street traders that they chased them away, councillors have been told.

Mobile traders selling cheap fruit from vans became such a problem in Girlington that some shopkeepers took matters into their own hands.

"It kicked off last year in Girlington when street vans were chased off by businesses in the area," Councillor Mohammed Shabbir told members of a scrutiny committee which debated the extent and affect of street trading across the city.

The Labour councillor said shopkeepers in Frizinghall were facing similar problems, with various fruit vans turning up in different streets over several days."

"In Frizinghall there has been five to six vans through the week, all at different locations. Sometimes two on the same day - businesses are affected."

He said one unnamed hot food trader had taken to running a business outside his home in the Haworth Road area, running an electricity cable from his home to the van.

"As a councillor, I have had a number of complaints around street trading and the knock-on effect on business and the environment of the area.

"I have had complaints about people buying food from street traders close to a school. I appreciate that people are trying to earn a living but there is consideration about there being a level playing field for local traders and street vendors so as not to disadvantage or give advantage to one or another."

He claimed hot food street traders were "undercutting" rival takeaways.

Cllr Shabbir called for street traders to be charged an annual fee in the region of £500 so that they had less of an unfair advantage over shopkeepers who have many more overheads.

Although he has sympathy for those street traders who are trying to earn a living, he said it was unfair on shopkeepers who were being undercut.

Members of the environment and waste management scrutiny committee were told that the council did not know the full extent of street trading in the district.

In some areas, there are restrictions, including in the centres of Bradford, Shipley, Bingley, Keighley, Haworth and Ilkley, as well as the Midland Road area of Bradford and Victoria Road in Saltaire.

Councillors are being asked to consider where further action could be taken after hearing there has been a rise in the number of street traders selling everything from food, clothes and even sofas.

Last night the committee asked officers to gather further information on the impact that increasing numbers of street traders was having on the district's businesses.

Committee chairman Councillor Martin Love said the anecdotal evidence from Cllr Shabbir and others suggested that more work needed to be done to find out the impact of street trading.